Discussion Posts

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Favorite Fictional Character --- Misfit Toys

If you can't tell by know I'm a sucker for anyone labeled a misfit. There is something about them that touches me and brings me back to the awkward stages of my childhood. They are me in a way, the part of me that never grew out of those moments. So who better than the inhabitants of The Island of Misfit Toys to be the focus of this weeks post.

What could be worse for a toy, other than to be unloved and not played with. When you are made for a very specific purpose only to have that purpose taken away from you, it would be devastating. i think it's a miracle these toys didn't come out of the process bitter or angry. Instead all they want to do is be loved by a child and to bring that same child joy and happiness. To be totally honest about it though, I'm not sure there was one toy on the island that I wouldn't have loved to own. Some of them are so unique and different that I would have felt really cool to be able to play with them.

Who wouldn't want a squirt gun that shoots Jelly? Anyone can have a water gun, but who else on your block would have been able to squirt you in the face with grape jelly. Besides, can you imagine how cool making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich would have been with that thing.

The boat that sank instead of floating would have been really handy in the bathtub. I always sank my boats anyway but would have to hold them down. I used to love dunking my head under the water and using my G.I. Joes to explore sunken ships at the bottom of the ocean. It would have been a lot easier to have a boat that just stayed down there. I'm not sure what was wrong with the sailboat on the island, but I would have played with that as well.

For some reason the ostrich riding cowboy always reminded me of a movie version of The Swiss Family Robinson. It would have been cool to race my friends toys with him. If they started to get too far ahead of him, the ostrich could trip them with it's long legs.

The bird that swims instead of flies would have come in handy in the tub too. I would have been able to use him as a way for the G.I. Joes to get to the sunken boats. He would have been really cool to put in a fish tank as well.

Some of them are just so cute it would have been nice to have them around to cheer me up. The blue teddy bear with wings is adorable and I could imagine myself as a kid making up a story around it. It would have been an angel bear sent down from Heaven to comfort me when I was sick. The spotted elephant is just plain cute as is the dolly, even though her misfit status is never explained.

I'll even take the two clowns on the island. Charlie in the Box is just cool. If I'm going to own a clown that jumps out of a box, I want it to be called something other than Jack. Jack is just a boring name in general, Charlie has a little more character. Even the clown nesting dolls that end with a windup mouse would be welcome in my home.

While we are at it, send me the plane that can't fly, the two wooden soldiers with no faces, the scooter, the toy car, the fire engine, the train with square wheels, the rocking dog, the cat/dog looking thing on the box, and all those other toys in the background. I'm sure there would be millions of boys and girls who would cherish them.